Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Sit and watch a child see birds eating near them. A child can be so
happy seeing birds eating bread close to where they are standing.
Watching the face of that child is always so much fun when they see
the birds approaching and grabbing the food.

A child can make eating a meal a different experience. A child can
make simple noodles seem so interesting. The challenge of picking up
the slippery noodle can be fun to watch.

Rain. Look at the face of children when it rains. Rain can be so
much fun for children, be it splashing in the puddles or catching
rain drops on their tongues. It is fun to just watch.

Laughter. Listen to a child laugh and so often it will make you
smile or laugh as well. A child can see something simple which makes
them laugh. Take a minute to see something through their eyes and you
will see things so differently.

Spend a bit of time looking at the world from a child's view. You
may be so surprised at how simple things can be so much fun. A child
sees things without a bias and sometimes that is what we adults need
to do.

A child helps us see things differently. It doesn't matter our age,
we all need that time to stop and be a child for even a few minutes.
Take the time to be a child for a few minutes, you may be surprised
how good you feel.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

How often can someone doing something small make such a big
difference?

When you are out and about spend a bit of time watching for the
simple gestures people do. A simple gesture can be a nod or smile as
you pass someone on the street. You don't have to know the person
but an acknowledgment can make a difference. The person may feel
better just by you doing that.

Saying to someone “have a good day” can make them smile. It
might even help you feel better as well. There is no cost involved
in these simple jesters. By doing something like this can make
people around you feel better.

Sit and watch other people and see what they do. Knowing that the
simple gestures can make such a difference is nice. When you are
walking around, see how others acknowledge you. A smile or a nod can
make you feel better as well. Evening hearing the word “thanks”
when you hold open a door can make a difference to your mood. Doing
the simple guestures can really make a difference on how people feel
and interact with others.

Being able to do the simple guestures can really make you feel better.
People around you will be happy with the impact that these simple
jesters have made. Remember simple gestures are what make people
happy and they will do the same to others therefore making things
better for everyone.

Now, before the end of today remember to do at least one simple gestures and see how you feel and see if you have made someone smile as
well.

Monday, December 21, 2015

This is something that so many people don't seem to understand.
Being accessible means that someone in a wheelchair can actually get
around themselves without issues. Now, here are some issues that I
have seen and people with walkers or in wheelchairs would have
issues.

Washroom doors without the auto assist button. How does someone
pull open a door when they can't get up beside the door. The other
issue is how can they pull the door open and deal with their walker
or chair themselves

Cubicles not large enough. Some washrooms are not accessible due to
the size of their cubicles. Someone with a walker or in a wheelchair
cannot fit into the cubicle which is not fair.

Hand-dryers. Some of the new hand dryers in public washrooms are
made where you put your hands down into them to activate the dryer.
How does a wheelchair get close enough to use these. These dryers
are quite often the only dryers available.

Apartment building parking garages. Some garages have no means of
someone with a disability to open doors to get either into or out of
the parking garage. This is an issue even for existing tenants as
they may require some sort of physical aid and have a challenge
getting to or from their own vehicle alone.

Unclear entrances. There are situations where entrances with the
ramp or the auto assist button are not easy to locate.

For locations to be accessible they need to be welcoming to
individuals. Some physical challenges can be temporary while others
are permanent. If a location is accessible think of how it may help
the able bodied individuals as well.

Auto assist button – helps open doors when you are holding
something (like a child).

Large cubicles – parents with strollers are able to use these and
have the stroller in with them.

Parking garages – makes the opening of doors easier when you are
moving things between your car and apartment again using the auto
assist button to open doors after using your access fob.

Of course making some wheelchair accessible areas also makes it
easier for able bodied individual to use at well. The locations I am
really looking at are the ones that say they are accessible but
really aren't. The requirements always seem to be changing with
regards to being accessible.

If you are somewhere and see someone that might need some assist, see
how you can help. One day you may be in the position of needing some
help due to a physical challenge.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Having the opportunity to hide from the daily routine can make such a
difference.

There are times when you have lots to do that you need a break from
the everyday routine. It can be as simple as just putting your
mobile device to silent mood for a bit of time. Another way to have
a break is take a bit of time to do something different. Changing
your routine even a little bit can make such a difference. A simple
thing like going somewhere different for a coffee can help.

A mobile device can help you escape but it might be something you
need to hide from as well. With the world today we never really seem
to be disconnected from email or work. The ability to check in with
work at any time can come in handy. The downside of always being
connected means people expect you to be available at all times. To
take breaks away from all the demands is very important.

Knowing how to take the time to hide from the world is very
important. The idea of hiding from the world even for small bits of
time is important. Everyone needs the break every once in a while.

How you hide is up to you but remember you need to take that time. The world is still going to keep going without you. People
may have to wait a few extra minutes for that reply but the break is
needed. Hiding from the world is good for all of us.

My escape is now over but I enjoyed a cup of tea and avoided checking
emails for half an hour. The world kept going and no one really
missed me while I took a hit of time to hide.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

How
often have your received a meeting request and am not certain of the
actual time of the meeting?

I
have received emails for meetings and the time is "2 pm -5 GMT" and of
course I look at it and have to try and figure out what time.
Considering I live in Toronto, that meeting request is for 9 am on
the same day as stated in the request. The other problem that
happens is when someone in British Columbia asked if you can meet at
2 pm. The first thing I do when I get this request is immediately ask
if it is 2 pmToronto time or 2 pm BC time. It is amazing how many
people figure that when they say a time you should automatically
understand what time they are talking about.

The
meeting requests that can get really interesting is when you are
dealing with multiple time zones for the same meeting. It can happen
that you are adding time to calculate the time in one area and then
subtracting time to figure out the times in other areas. I have had
meetings with people in Halifax, Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver and
those meetings are always fun to schedule. The meeting request ends
up looking something like this:

Toronto
6 pm

Halifax
7 pm

Edmonton
4 pm

Vancouver
3 pm

I
have found that by clearly stating each of the times in the meeting
request makes it a little easier for everyone. Of course there can
still be mix ups especially when the person scheduling the meeting
does a wrong calculation of the times in the other time zones.

It
can cause a major problem when the wrong time is started and then
everyone sees that one time and that is the one they use for their
own area calculation. This means that if the Halifax time was
incorrectly started it could result in everyone being an hour off for
the meeting. I know this can happen as it has happened to a meeting
that I have been part of.

Time
zones are always an interesting challenge when scheduling meetings.
When you are working with Canada we have 5 time zones and one is only
half an hour different. We also have the challenge of figuring out
what time it is in Saskatchewan because they don't change their
clocks in the spring and fall.

Making
sure that you are aware of the other time zones is very important
when scheduling meetings or calling other areas of the country. You
don't want to call someone in the middle of the night just because
you are up and working.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

It is interesting to watch the interaction of customers with
restaurant staff.

Recently we were away on a Saturday evening and were going into a
restaurant for dinner. We had made reservations and I am very glad
that we did because the restaurant was full at 6 pm and there was a
waiting list. When we approached the hostess there was a family
looking for a table. The mother was with her two teenage boys and
she was looking for a table. The manager nicely explained that there
would be an approximately 15 minute wait for a table but she was more
than welcome to sit in the waiting area until a table became
available. The manager also explained that they could eat in the
bar/lounge area of the restaurant if a table came available but
couldn't sit at the bar as her boys were under 19 years of age. The
mother didn't like having to wait for a table and her comment was
“Get me a table as quickly as you can”. The manager nicely said
“we will do our best” and that is all they can do when the entire
restaurant is full.

During this same restaurant business there were people that wanted
quick service and others (like us) that just understood that the
servers were very busy and we may have to wait a coupe of minutes for
attention. It is always interesting when you are out and you watch
the interaction of customers with restaurant staff. Some people
treat the server as a lower class but most people are very friendly
and understanding when the server takes a couple of minutes to do
something.

Eating out is something that we do as a treat now and most of the
time we don't eat out on a Saturday night as it is just too busy out.
We were eating out on a Saturday evening this time as we were away
on vacation. Of course, being in Niagara Falls on a weekend is
always busy especially when there are events going on. The only time
Niagara Falls isn't extremely busy on a Saturday is in January and
February when it is cold out and not many people want to be walking
around.

When you go to a restaurant for a meal understand you are not the
only customer looking for a seat or wanting service. If you are in a
hurry, you need to ensure you are flexible with where you are going
to have your meal. When we are in a hurry and are eating out we
normally go to a fast food restaurant so that we don't have to worry
about wait times.

If you are eating out on a Saturday evening remember there are going
to be a lot of other people doing the same thing. If you want a seat,
at a specific restaurant, at a specific time I would suggest that you
make reservations so that you get that table. It is always
interesting to see how busy some place is and how they try to ensure
everyone is happy with their experience. To make the experience work
both the customer and the server need to work together.

Eating out is always interesting and if you want to have some fun,
just watch how other people interact with the servers. Also, remember
that when you are eating out others are watching your interaction as
well.

Monday, December 7, 2015

How
many times have you discovered that the internet isn't working when
you want it?

I
think all of us have run into the problem of the internet not working
at some point and it is normally when you are wanting to look
something up or send out an email. There are times when
the internet has been working fine and then all of a sudden it stops
working. This can be extremely frustrating when you are trying to do
something.

We
have all become very dependent on the internet to do our daily tasks.
It doesn't matter if it doing our work or doing things around home,
the internet is part of our daily life. It is amazing to think of how
often we check our mobile devices to see if we have an emails or what
was posted on Twitter or Facebook.

I
have noticed that when the internet isn't working that is the time that
you seem to think of everything that you should look up. It is also
the time when you think of that email that you should have sent a
while ago so need to do it right then. I think when we can't do
something quickly and are aware of that, is when our brain thinks of
all of the tasks that have been forgotten for a while.

The
internet has now become such a key part of our lives. Some people
keep all their documents in the cloud so if the internet doesn't work
they cannot access their documents. There
are times that I would like to have files accessible no matter where
I am but then I think of the issues with that. Yes, the internet can
be available most of the time but not every device has internet access no
matter where you are. There are times when you are travelling and
internet isn't available so you can't get those files even if you
really need them.

For
me, there are times that I actually unplug from the internet and it
is amazing how much work you can get done without being able to check
emails or just check Facebook or Twitter for a minute. The minute you plan on spending on Facebook or Twitter
quite often ends up to be a lot longer because once you start
checking things there are a lot of other things that you think of.
Facebook and Twitter are probably the biggest problems because you go
to check one thing and that leads to another and another and all of a
sudden you have lost a minimum of 30 minutes and don't know where it
really went.

Yes,
the internet has made communication so much easier but it also has
given us a lot of different ways to lose track of time. Next time the
internet isn't working think of some of the good points. You may get
more work done because you don't have those other distractions.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Writing is something that most people have to work on to see results. For me writing isn't something that just happens each day. I
have had to work on making sure that I can get words down a bit at a
time. There are days when the blank page stays blank for a while as
I cannot find the words to go onto it.

Of course like most people that write there are days when writing
just happens and I am very thankful for those days. I don't get
upset when the writing isn't as good as I would like because I know
that there will be another day when everything just works.

If you were to talk to an author you would probably hear that they
have challenges writing some times as well. For authors, we only see
the finished piece of work not all the words that have been written
and rewritten until the correct words end up in the story. Being
able to express your thoughts even if it is to yourself helps get the
writing to a higher standard a bit at a time.

Writing for me has become something that I do most days. I don't
write a blog everyday because there are days when I can't express
myself like that but at least I write something down to keep up my
writing. I also have days when I can write a couple of blogs without
an effort but those days are rare.

The only way to write is to actually sit down and put words onto
paper. No one has to see what you write as the rough draft other
than yourself. Being able to at least get thoughts down on paper or screen is
a start and then you can go from there.

Writing isn't easy and you should never be jealous of what you see
someone else write. Everyone writes differently but remember you can
only say you write if you really write.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Have you noticed how
much food is really wasted at buffet restaurants?

What is amazing when
you go to a buffet restaurant is seeing how much food some people put
onto their plates when they are selecting their food. Of course
everything does look good but the idea is you can go back more than
once to select food.

The idea at the
buffet is to select a few items (not heaping plates full) and go back
to your table and eat what you selected. If you just wanted a taste
of a lot of different things than the amount on your plate should be
a taste size not a full serving of everything you want to taste. In
a lot of cases the first trip to the buffet table is to see what is
available and maybe get a few small portions of food so that you can
decided what you really want to have when you go back to get more.

What I have noticed
is that when some people go up to the buffet table they have a
heaping plate and just pick a few mouthfuls off of that plate before
leaving the remaining food on the plate and go and get some different
food. If you are unsure of what you really want then just take small
portions until you know. The people that leave the first heaping
plate of food then normally come back with another heaping plate of
food only to do the same thing again. Most of the food that they are
put on their plates never gets eaten and it is just wasted.

You wonder why
buffets are so expensive, well someone has to pay for all the food
that is wasted by being put on plates and just thrown out. It would
be really nice if people did a little bit of thinking when they are
doing their selection instead of grabbing lots of everything. The
basic idea of a buffet is to be able to have a selection of foods and
be able to go back and get more if you need more food. Of course
there are people who have heaping plates of food and can actually eat
everything they selected. Those are the people that really enjoy the
buffet experience and will get the best value for the price.

Next time you are at
a buffet restaurant look at the plates of the people around you. How
many eat almost everything if not everything they have selected and
how many leave most of their choices on the plate only to be thrown
out. It is amazing to see how much food is really wasted at buffet
restaurants and the people that normally complain about the price of
the meal are the ones that are leaving piles of food on their plates
each trip to the buffet table.

So, next time when
you are at a buffet table remember, you can go back and get more food
after you have finished what you selected. It is best to take
smaller portions until you are sure what you really like especially
if you are trying something you are unsure about. Pace yourself
because if you eat too much too fast you are just going to be
uncomfortable and really not enjoy yourself.

A buffet is great
for when you are unsure of what you really want as you can have lots
of small bits of a lot of different foods.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

It
is very interesting to see how busy some coffee shops are during a
week day now. A coffee shop can be a place to have a meeting, do
work while on the road or just to escape the office for a while. In
a lot of cases a coffee shop gives you a break from the normal
routine.

We
use a coffee shop sometimes as a place to work but also as an escape
from our own office. There are times when the change of scenery can
really help regain a focus. A coffee shop can also be a place where
we can discuss some of the projects we are working on without other
distractions.

It
is amazing how much work you can accomplish when in a different
location. For us a coffee shop is a chance to unplug from the
internet and focus on some other work. Yes, when we are in a coffee
shop we are not on the “free” wifi that most provide. The “free”
wifi can also be a dangerous connection as you never really know who
could be on the connection doing bad things.

The
coffee shop environment is such a great spot to be able to focus on
something. There are times when an hour sitting in a coffee shop
results in more work getting accomplished than even two hours in the
office.

The
coffee shops have now become the spot where even University and
College students can do their homework. I know this as I have done
some of my College assignments sitting in a coffee shop. The ability
to focus on a single task is wonderful.

A
coffee shop has now become a remote office for so many people. You
can have your meetings or work along, it's up to you. A coffee shop
can also be a place where writers go to write. How you use a coffee
shop is up to you and don't be surprised at all that people will be
working around you.

It's
now time for me to finish up my coffee and get back to the office.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

There are dos and
don't when being a pedestrian and that is something I think people
forget sometimes when they are busy.

One of the biggest
things I see people forgetting is that when they are going to cross a
road is to look to make sure that drivers have seen them. I have
noticed at intersections people just starting to cross without even
checking to make sure that the cars have stopped around them. Cars
that are turning right sometimes think they can beat the light and
that is when problems happen.

Mobile devices have
also caused problems for pedestrians because they become so involved
in whatever they are doing on their mobile devices that they don't
look to see what traffic is doing. One day we were out and noticed a
lady almost cross a busy road on a red like because she was looking
down at her device and not at the intersection. For me, if I need to
check something on my mobile device while walking I will move over to
the side of the sidewalk and normally stop. I will not check my
device while crossing a road because I need my attention on the other
pedestrians and the vehicles around me.

In our area the one
thing that I see is how people look for traffic before they cross the
road. People have a habit of starting to cross the road before
looking for traffic and they are only looking at the traffic going in
one direction. Yes, it is normally the traffic farthest from where
they are so they don't see the vehicles that are going to come into
contact with them first. The other thing around our area is people
figure they can cross anywhere on the street and cars will just stop
for them to let them finish crossing. I am really amazed that there
aren't more accidents involved pedestrians in our area.

Weather is another
factor that I have been causes major issues with vehicles and
pedestrians. Pedestrians in bad weather figure that they have the
right to stay dry so don't look for vehicles in intersections.
Umbrellas play a big part of that because some people hold their
umbrellas so low that they can't even see anything around them.

If you have ever
driven or walked in downtown Toronto during rush hour you will
understand this point. People are in such a rush to either get to or
from work to their trains that they forget about anyone else. There
have been instances where people are being pushed out of the way so
that one person can get their train. These people think that they
are the only individuals wanting to get where they are going. At
intersections I have seen streams of people walk against the light so
that they can to where they are going not thinking about the fine
that they could get for doing this. Also cars seem to be very
impatient during rush hour because they also want to get to where
they are going. Can't people just slow down just a little bit and
thing of others. If you have to run to or from your train everyday
maybe you need to look at your schedule and adjust it.

Pedestrians do have
their rights but vehicles also have their rights as well. Remember
when you dealing with the road and vehicles, the vehicles are a lot
bigger than you are and cause a lot more damage to you than you can
to them. Take a second when you are at an intersection to make sure
that the cars see you and if that thing on your mobile device is so
important take a break from walking and finish dealing with it.

Pedestrians are all
of us so let's take those couple of seconds to think about our
surroundings before we do something that could result in the end of
our life.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Now a days a
lot of us deal with the various pressures of work and home life and
the balance between the two of them. For me it is a challenge because
home is where quite a bit of my work is actually done so that
sometimes makes the balancing of the too a little harder.

What can be a
challenge when having an office at home is making sure that you find
the time to walk away from that environment and remember that there
are other things to do. Of course, the home office is where all the
bills are paid for both work and home and even the email is mostly
done in that area as well. What I have found works is normally
around dinner time I will turn off the computer saying that the rest
of the evening is going to be away from it and I will do other
things. Now yes, I may walk away from the computer but my mobile
device is always close by so that I can even deal with emails away
from the computer. I just find that being able to walk away from the
computer helps me make sure I have a balance.

There are times when
the pressure of work does impact home and vice verse. There are the
appointments that have to be done during the day that impact what I
can do for work so that is one of the things. Another thing that
impacts home life is when there is something that needs to get done
and am working against a deadline. The deadline may mean that I work
some evenings trying to focus on the task as I don't normally get as
many business emails after work hours. The other impact to the home
life is some meetings have to be held in the evenings so that
everyone can attend especially for one client that I work with. This
is partly because of dealing with the various time zones in Canada.

Making sure that you
can try and balance both work and home is something that can be
difficult. I know that for us the weekends are when we try to do
quite a bit of the home stuff but there are times weekends are for
work. If this is the case we are fortunate that we can actually
sometimes take some time during the week to get the home stuff done
as well.

Just make sure that
you do take the time for yourself no matter how you do it. In the
world today it is harder to totally walk away from work but you have
to try. We have actually found a method that works for us and in
some ways helps us work better. When we are feeling that stressed
and overwhelmed feeling instead of getting more stressed we will go
to the gym for an hour and workout. The gym is a great place to
actually put a lot of the things you are dealing with in the back of
your mind and let them sit there for a while. Quite a few times
after getting back from the gym that task that was a challenge before
is a lot easier as the solution seems to come a lot quicker.

So whatever you do
remember that there should be a balance between work and home. Give
yourself a little bit of time to ensure you are being you and not
just the work person.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Recently I had the
opportunity to do a one day contract and it was a very different
experience. The work I did was interesting in some ways but it also
was a very long day but that isn't want bothered me. The interesting
thing about the day was how some of the other people that were also
working handled it.

Now what the job
involved wasn't very difficult so that is nice but it was the working
with the various people that made the day a challenge in some ways.
When we all signed up to work we were told it was going to be a very
long day and parts of it could be very slow and other parts of it
would be extremely busy. We were also told that after a given time
we may be able to leave quickly or we might have to stay for a while
and help with various tasks. I went into the day knowing that I
wasn't sure what time I would be leaving but I would try my best to
see how quickly I could complete the various tasks so that I could
leave.

One of the people
that I was working with found out that she really wasn't cut out for
the position that she was doing and she made sure that a bunch of us
heard about it. She got frustrated with people and was very vocal
about it which didn't help some of us. She also figured that at the
given time she was going to be able to leave without doing any of the
clean up that we were told was going to be part of our jobs. I ended
up having to work with her on some of the clean up and she tried
everything to get out of doing anything because she wanted to go
home. My attitude was if we can get the things done we would be
heading home quickly.

For me it was a
different type of work and yes the day was long but at least once all
the clean up was done I was quickly thanks and told I was able to
leave. Now, the girl that had done all the complaining and didn't
want to help clean up ended up having to stay longer than me. The
supervisor found a task that someone had to do and I think because of
all her complaining and not working she got the task.

The job that I did
was work for Election Canada on Election Day and yes it was a
different experience. If you went in with the right attitude it
wasn't bad and I am glad that I did it.

I hope the girl
found out that if you do your job that you said you would do and
didn't complain that things would be a lot easier. A smile goes a
long way to making a job a little pleasant and not letting all the
little things get you down.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Sitting and thinking
of loved ones is something that most people do at some point.
Remembering those that are no longer with us is something that is
important. A person may not be physically here any longer but they
are here in a different way.

A person is in our
hearts and in our memories and that is what is very important. As I
write this I am thinking about my own father who is no longer with us
but he is still in my heart. My father died when I was just a child
so I don't have memories of doing things with him but I have memories
of hearing people talk about him. My father is someone I would have
loved to get to know but I just didn't have a chance to do that. I
keep a picture of him with me and I know that he is watching over me.

One thing that is
very wonderful now is looking at my nephew and seeing my father in
him. Both my nephew and I look like my father and I am very proud of
that. Yes, growing up I didn't like being recognized as my father's
daughter because I didn't get to know him. Now, I am very proud that
I look like him and I always say that when someone asks who I take
after. Seeing that my nephew looks like my father makes me happy
because there is a person living that looks like those pictures I
have seen of my father as a young adult.

We all have people
that we remember and they don't have to be blood relations to be that
loved one we think about. For me, I have people that I remember
because of how they touched my life and helped me become who I am
now. It's important to sometimes to just sit and think about these
people because it helps you see who you became and why.

Some of my favourite
memories include people that are no longer here with us. Remembering
a smile, a kind word or a hug helps get us through those touch times.
A person leaves their little footprint on each of us and each of us
will remember the same person differently.

Take time to create
memories with people that are important to you because the memories
will last.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

I think everyone has
a calendar for some of the things that they do or would like to do.
For us a schedule or calendar is extremely important to make sure
that things are done when they are required to be completed. As a
business owner there are deadlines that must be met for the
government otherwise there are penalties that have to be paid.

A calendar for me is
something that I check most mornings to make sure that there isn't
anything that I will be missing that day. Also my calendar let's me
see what is coming up in the next little while so that I know the
time I have available to accomplish my work. If you had of seen my
October calendar you would have noticed that there were a lot of
things written on it and some of those were conferences. What I
noticed is that in the spring there are a limited number of events
that we normally go to and they are spread out. Now, October seems
to be the month when a lot of the conferences and events are so that
calendar is always extremely busy. This October there were even days
when there were two conferences but luckily they were both close
together and neither required a whole day attendance.

A calendar is a
great communication device because it lets you see what is coming up
but also what has happened in the past. For me, there are two
calendars that I use most of the time and one is the one on my mobile
device which has some of the events on it and then there is the paper
calendar that is near my desk. The second calendar is the one where a
lot of the other events and items get written on so that I can see
what is happening in the future. I use my paper calendar to review
the future events because it is a lot quicker to see the week ahead
or even the month overview without having to click on the various
days to see what the dot means.

The calendar is also
a means of making sure that we both know what is coming up because in
some cases, if we didn't write something down, we may miss that
specific event. So yes, a calendar can be for a few key things or
for a lot of what is going on. For me, the calendar lets me make
sure that I am able to find the balance between work and personal
life without missing things.

Our calendar isn't
as full now with conferences, which is nice, so work is going to be
accomplished. It is now time for me to go back and check the
calendar to see what I should be working on.

Saturday, November 7, 2015

It is hard to
believe but I have been going to the gym now for 12 weeks and am
loving it. Of course my muscles sometimes don't like the after
effects of the workout but I am feeling very good about going.

I continue to try
some of the different equipment that is at the gym and now I think I
have only a couple more pieces to try that are not in the free weight
area. It has been interesting seeing how some of the equipment that
I had such a hard time using at the beginning is getting easier and
easier to use now.

The one machine that
is used twice most times is the one for the abdominal muscles. I
have been able to increase the weight that I have been doing on this
machine so I know that it is making me stronger as doors are so much easier to open now. Most of the weights
that I started with have increased on all the machines and that is
wonderful because I know I am getting stronger in general. I have found that I can do sit ups now that I wasn't able to do in the
past and I enjoy doing the most of the time. For me to make sit ups
work I have had to hold a 4 kg exercise ball while doing them but at
least it means I can do them now. The only times I have had a problem
doing them is
after really working those same muscles on different equipment or while watching my husband try and do them beside me as he was having real problems doing them.

No, the weight
hasn't been going down quickly but things have been getting easier
for me to do. My briefcase doesn't feel as heavy as it did when I
started going to the gym and I haven't taken things out of it. I
think I may have even increased what I am carrying as I normally have
a textbook wit me when I go to the office now. Our clothes are
fitting differently as well which is a big thing and that shows we
are doing the right things. We think the increase in muscle mass is currently getting in the way of weight dropping off faster.

This past week we
decided that besides going to the gym we were going to try and do
some walking that we haven't done before. The walk we decided to do
was the walk home from the office instead of taking transit. The
6 km route isn't bad and it is something that we figured we were in shape
now to do it. We accomplished this in just over an
hour so not bad considering there were traffic lights and such that
we had to deal with. This walk was accomplished after doing another
2.2 km walk earlier in the day so yes we pushed ourselves that day
but felt good afterwards.

The gym is a
place that I am still enjoying going and I am looking forward to seeing
people that I haven't seen for a while and hoping that they notice a
difference in me. While the weight isn't where I would like it to
be yet but at least just being able to feel better in myself if a huge
step.

The treadmill is
still a piece of equipment that I love using and I am normally on it
between 20 and 30 minutes most trips to the gym. I haven't tried a 5
km walk in a few weeks so I think it is time for me to try that again
and see how fast I can now complete it. I can see that it should be
under the hour mark now but not sure how much under the hour.

One goal that I have
set for myself is for next spring/summer and that is to complete a 5
km event. Being able to complete that event in a good time would be
very rewarding. If I could possibly run a little bit of it that
would even be better but that will have to wait as I need to make
sure I don't re-injure a knee that sometimes reminds me to slow a
bit.

As I write this, I
am sitting and feeling a few muscles that I used yesterday but I know
that the pain isn't bad and it is worth it in the long run. I am
getting stronger and fitter and that is what I wanted to do. 12
weeks of going to the gym have made a big difference in how I am
feeling and I hope that this continues.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Lately I have
noticed that a lot of people are not looking before they start to
enter a transit vehicle. A door on a bus or train is used for both
entering and exiting a vehicle. It is amazing to just sit and watch
people at the door. It is interesting the number of people that as
soon as the door open immediately start to get on the vehicle without
looking to see if there is anyone exiting the vehicle using the same
door.

While watching this
on transit I have seen individuals push onto a vehicle by the person
trying to exit the vehicle. It would only take a few seconds to let
the person off the vehicle first and then get on. I do understand
that some people wait to the very last minute to get to the door when
exiting but I am talking about the people that are standing at or
very near the door before the vehicle stops.

If this situation
happened on the rare occasion it wouldn't be something that I noticed
but this happens on almost every trip I take on public transit.
During my trip into the office today I noticed this happen three
times and that almost got me laughing on the bus. It is sometimes
funny to see the almost accidents between the two individuals in the
door way because the person entering just sees a door open and not
the person standing in the doorway.

It really only takes
a second to look up to make sure that the doorway is clear before you
try and enter a vehicle. It does avoid the accident or even the
frustration of getting banged when exiting a vehicle. In some cases
people are too busy looking at their mobile device and in other cases
they just don't look.

When going to enter
a transit vehicle take that second to look up and make sure you
aren't going to run into someone else. Yes, just looking up away
from your mobile device could make your day just that little bit
better and avoid that accident.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Looking out my
window I am seeing that the seasons are changing. I have had the
opportunity to enjoy some nice fall colours from my office window and
that has been great. Now the leaves are falling and the trees are
starting to look bare and dull.

Seeing all the
different fall colours is nice when you can just look at them and
dream. I know that there have been times this fall that I have just
looked at the colours and remembered growing up. I have always loved
the fall colours and walking in the leaves and kicking them around.
I think a lot of kids love playing in the fallen leaves and I was one
of them. Being able to help rake the leaves was always fun because
after you made a pile you could either jump in them or for me it was
running through them kicking the leaves all over the place again.

I am not a person
that enjoys winter but I do enjoy all the oranges and reds that the
leaves turn in the fall. If I could skip winter I would be a lot
happier because the other three seasons I enjoy so I guess having one
that I don't like isn't so bad.

The clocks changing
is another indication of the changing seasons and we are going to be
facing that this weekend. It will be getting darker earlier in the
evenings starting Sunday but at least it is a little brighter in the
mornings for a little while.

Fall is slowing
fading here and next it will be winter. At least sitting here right
now I can enjoy the last little bits of the colours that I can see.
Seasons change and everyone has a season that they enjoy the most and
mine would be spring when everything comes alive again. So, yes I
love the fall colours and the leaves on the ground but spring is for
me.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

So many people
forget that there is one very important role of themselves when they
are asking IT for support. The role of the end user is to explain
the problem that they are having and in some cases being the hands and
eyes for the IT person.

We ran into a
situation a while ago with an end user that would run into a problem
and as soon as she had notified us about it, would basically run
away. The person didn't want to help solve the problem and in a lot
of cases the words we got were “it doesn't work so fix it”. Now
the problem with that type of explanation is we have no clue what
they were doing or even what the problem really is.

If as an end user
you are experiencing an issue, be it with some software or something
else with regards to your computer, it's important to communicate
effectively with the IT person. It doesn't work makes it very hard
to figure out if the actual issue is a computer problem or if the end
user is doing something incorrectly. If there is an error message
that is popping up, make sure that you tell IT what you were doing
when the message popped up because that might help figure out what
the problem really is.

In our situation the
person just wouldn't be the hands and eyes for us as they had access
to the computer and we were not in the same location. It was “it
didn't work” and that was it which means that as an IT individual
you get frustrated because there really isn't a way to figure out
what the problem is without having to go on-site and deal with the
computer yourself. If you are asking for help from someone in IT make
sure that the problem is clearly explained and you are going to be
available to answer the questions that are going to arise.

IT does the best
that they can do and of course most IT individuals are not mind
readers so we can't know what you were doing when the problem
occurred. If remote access isn't part of what has been asked of us,
remember, we can't see the screen that you are referring to so some
communication is going to be very important. Making sure that as an
end user that you can help IT when you say “It doesn't work” will
mean that it will probably get fixed a lot faster than if you just
throw you hands up and run away.

Asking an IT person
for help can sometimes be frustrated because yes you are going to
lose a bit of work time but you asked for the help so you need to
remember that. IT individuals don't know how every piece of software
works even if they have installed it. The IT person is responsible
for installing the software and the end user is the one that needs to
know all the little bits that make the software work for them.

In our case we did
go to site and get the problem resolved which was wonderful. Having
the hands and eyes might have made it quicker but that we don't know.
Also before you scream that something isn't working do a bit of
checking yourself as you might solve the problem without ever calling
the IT person.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Yes, this is a topic
that I experienced while dealing with a sports injury and it really
bothered me. Part of it people not looking at what is around them
but the other part is how I was specifically treated while in a
store.

I recently sprained
my ankle and was told to help it heal quicker that I should use
crutches for a few days to help me get around. Now, crutches are
something that you see a lot of especially as a result of some sort
of sports injury so they aren't something new. Well, we decided that
even with me being on crutches it would be good to get out and get
some walking in so we headed off to a mall so that I could do the
walking without dealing with the weather as well.

It is interesting
watching people walking around a mall because so many people don't
seem to look ahead to see what is in front of them. There were
instances that people were pretty close to walking into me before
they even noticed I was there. Of course, the crutches mean that I
can't move out of the way as quickly as I normally would so I had to
stop a few times to avoid being walked into. This wasn't too bad an
issue it was what happened in a store that really got to me.

During the mall walk
I said that I wanted to go into one store to look for a top that I
have seen in a different location but not my size. I walked into the
store and the sales person was there greeting customers as they came
in but I didn't get a greeting but the person behind me did. Now
that was the start of the visit into the store. I was looking for a
specific top and was trying to see where it would be located in the
store. A couple of other sales people walked by me without even
acknowledging me or asking if I could use any assistance. I finally
got into one area of the store to see if I could find the top only
to be asked by a sales person to move so that they could hang up
something close to where I was standing. The sales person got rather
upset when I said that she would have to walk around a display to get
to the area because it wasn't so easy for me to move quickly on the
crutches (I don't think she even thought about that issue). Again, I
wasn't asked if I was looking for something or just browsing. The
final issue was when I was trying to head out of the store and I had
ended up close to the fitting rooms and as I was making my way
through one small area another sales lady headed toward me heading to
the fitting room. She didn't say anything because I think she saw on
my face that I was extremely frustrated. So, to sum it up I walked
the entire store without anyone asking if I needed assistance or even
acknowledging me as a customer other than to tell me to get out of a
sales person's way.

I cannot believe
that in the world today someone can be treated like that in a store.
I have been a frequent shopper in this chain but now that I have been
treated like this I am going to rethink of where I do my shopping.

Well Cleo, you have
shown me a few ways that you don't respect or care out some of your
customers. If you greet people are the door make sure you greet
everyone not just people you think may shop in your store. Every
customer that comes into your store should be treated with respect as
you never know if they are going to buy one thing or an entire
wardrobe.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

There are so many
ways that someone can get organized and it will depend on what they
mean when they say it. For me getting organized could be organizing
my thoughts, to-do-list, craft items, work stuff or even things
around home.

Yes, getting
organized can take on so many different meanings depending on what
the person is really talking about when they say it. I have said it
a couple of times and those were the times I am trying to organize
all the thoughts that were bouncing around in my head. Yes, I was
trying to organize the thoughts and get them down onto paper so that
I could actually do something with the ideas.

Getting organized no
matter what part of your life you are talking about is a good thing.
Sometimes it is simply just sitting back and looking at things a
little differently than you have been doing. Of course, getting
organized around the house is normally a lot bigger task than some of
the others but at least you feel better when you do any of them. For
me, organizing my to-do-list helps me remain focused and ensure that
I can get the things done that I need to get accomplished on a timely
basis. Recently I moved my to-do-list from a long list to smaller
project based lists and it is helping me a lot more. It did take some
time to get everything into the smaller projects but now it means
that when I want to focus on something I can see all the tasks that I
need to do for that project.

Being organized no
matter what you are talking about can really make you feel better
about your surroundings. It will also help you be more productive in
general because you will know where things are and be able to find
things quickly.

Getting organized
may take you a bit of time but at least the end results are
rewarding. You may change how you organize things a few times along
the way but when you find something that works for you that is great.
Your organization might not be good for someone else but you have to
have it so it works for you.

Monday, October 19, 2015

So may people are
now working either independently or for a small business. What has
been happening is more and more of the larger businesses have been
down sizing meaning that the workers have had to find new jobs.

What is amazing is
some people's attitudes about the small business owner or employee.
No, we don't have all the free time in the world to do things that we
want to do and not get paid for what we are doing. Our job is how we
make a living and in a lot of cases we were aren't working for a
client we aren't getting paid. Of course, being a business owner we
can sometimes set our hours but in a lot of cases these hours can be
extremely long.

When you work for a
small business or even own a small business there are a few things
that you really need to take into considering and that is your own
personal time. As a business owner when things are slow we try and
grab a day to ourselves because we don't know what we will get the
next one. It can be a challenge to take a vacation or even a weekend
away depending on what type of business you work in. For those in IT
there are always the challenges of who is going to help the client
when you are away and will they be able to handle the situation. We
are lucky and have some other independent IT owners that can assist
us when we are away.

Small businesses are
now making up more and more of the entire work force now a days
because of the shift in how things are done. For those that work for
big business remember that there are a lot more small businesses than
large businesses and one day you may be a small business owner or
employee.

When talking to a
business owner remember, yes, it can be nice to run your own business
or be part of a small business but the hours can be long. When you
have work that needs to be done you work until it is done and you
normally don't have set hours. We have experience a few people that
think because we have a small business we have lots of free time and
can do what we want whenever we want. In reality we do have free
time but it isn't always when we want it. Sometimes one of us has
the time to relax where the other is extremely busy.

Small businesses are
something that has happened in the past few years and I think it will
continue to be like this. More and more businesses would rather hire
someone to do a specific task and then not have them as part of their
payroll. Running a small business can be very enjoyable and I have
to admit that I am enjoying that role. I am very thankful that I
have a good business partner that I can work with.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Now a days so many
of us are doing multiple jobs or at least multiple tasks on an almost
daily basis.

As a consultant most
days I am managing the various tasks for the different clients as
well as the tasks that I also have for our own business. There are a
few things that I have found that work really well for me and that
have been helping me keep everything in some sort of order or at
least helping me manage everything.

Here are things that
I have found that have helped me keep things organized or at least
better organized.

Coloured binders

Coloured
binders – these binders are based on a colour that I have selected
for the various clients as well as for the our own company.

Coloured file
folders – the file folders for each client matches the binder
colour so that when everything is on my desk I can find what I am
looking for based on the colour of the folder.

Multiple
email address – having different email addresses for the various
functions does help ensure that I can keep myself on track when I
get busy. On my mobile device, I have some email accounts that notify me when I get an
email while other accounts don't, which are lower urgency that I will look at when I have time.

Calendar –
having a calendar where I can put all the different appointments
does help. Sometimes some of the appointments are simply just
reminders of things that I need to get accomplished.

To do list –
a detailed to-do-list is another thing that helps ensure that I can
keep on top of all the different deadlines that I need to remember
and deal with.

Trusty notebook

Notebook/journal
– one notebook where I can make notes as ideas and thoughts come
to me for the various tasks/projects really helps. It means that
all the ideas are in one place instead of all over like they were in
the past.

These are the things
that help me manage all the different things that I am working on. Not everything will work for everyone but this is what I
have found works for me.

Managing various
projects and tasks sometimes does feel like I am just bouncing
between everything but making sure that at the end of the day I can
figure out what I did and what still needs to get done is always
helpful. My to-do-list and notebook are always with me because that
way I can ensure that I know where things stand and what else needs
to be accomplished.

Find what works best for you and know that it can even change over
time.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

How often have you
heard someone listening to something in a public place without the
use of headphones?

I have noticed
lately that more and more people are using their mobile devices to
watch videos of some sort. What they aren't considering if the noise
that everyone else has to deal with if they aren't using headphones.
If you want to watch a video or play a game on your mobile device
that requires sound please use some headphones.

One place I have
seen a lot of video watching is in fast food areas and people are
sharing one device so that at least two of them can see the video at
once. Sure it's nice that you want to share the experience with the
other person but not everyone around you wants to hear the sounds
coming from your device. If you want to share the experience how
about both of you using one of the eye pieces from your headphones.

The other place that
I have noticed this happening with the videos and games is on public
transit. Sure, it is a great way to pass the time during the commute
but again not everyone else wants to hear what you are watching.
Actually on public transit, at least in Toronto, there is a policy
about if you are listening to a device you should be using
headphones. Now again if you are using the headphones the volume
should be such that only you can hear the sounds coming from the
device and not everyone around you.

Videos and chats are
get ways of communicating but please remember not everyone around you
has the same taste. Chats through mobile devices again should be done
using headphones with microphones so that not everyone hears
everything that is being said.

If you want to watch
your videos in public places please respect others in the same area.
We all want some of that space and don't want to hear just want you
would like to hear. Also, in a lot of cases the experience we get is
a bunch of muffled noises so we get no enjoyment out of it and even
if we could hear it, it may not be our taste. So, next time you
watch to watch that video or chat with friends through a mobile
device using the camera feature please remember that out of respect
to others use your headphones.

Monday, October 5, 2015

I think all of us
have received gift cards as some point. Now have the cards been to a
place you shop at or someplace the other individual likes and figured
you would?

Gift cards can be
very handy when you know the person and you can get them a card to a
store or mall that they shop at. Receiving a gift card for a store
that you have never shopped at is a little different. If I don't
know the person well enough and am not sure where they shop I would
rather give them a general gift card or even the cash.

Gift cards can even
come in handy when you are traveling because it means that you don't
have to carry as much cash around. The best gift cards are the cards
that can be reloaded or topped up and you can use the same card over
and over again. I have even seen cards now that are re-loadable as
well as a rewards card all in one. This makes it really nice because
then it serves two purposes instead of having two different cards.

A gift card can be
very good for individuals that are getting older and you aren't sure
what they want or need. I know that for my parents we have been
giving them gift cards sometimes and they are normally for the stores
that they frequent or at least to places we know they will use the
card at.

For me, when I receive a gift card I try and use it soon so that I can let
the person that gave it to me know what I used it on. The cards that
I think are the best are to book stores or the general gift cards
that you can now get. I have never received either one of these but
I know my husband uses his book store cards as he is a big reader.

Next time when you
are thinking about buying someone a gift card remember, when in doubt
just get them a general gift card, that way they can use it anywhere
or at least a lot of places.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Have you ever walked
into someone's office and all you could smell was their perfume or
cologne? Well for some of us this can cause some real problems.

For some people the
simple smell of a perfume or cologne can cause some major health
issues that can last for quite a while. The reaction would be a
slight tickle in the throat to something as made as major asthma
attacks. The reaction can also last from a couple of minutes to
several hours depending on the severity of the allergy/sensitivity.

There are a lot of
places where scents are not allowed and I am one of those that
totally supports this type of policy. I know that hospitals and
clinics have started requesting individuals visiting these locations
to avoid using perfume or cologne prior the to the visit. I am one
of those individuals that has a hard time dealing with different
perfume, colognes and even some candle scents. Normally I can deal
with it if I can get out of the area quick enough but other times
that just a quick smell of something can result in a hoarse voice and
congestion for several hours.

When you have a
condition that effects your breathing it makes it hard to focus once
a reaction has started. For me, I just have to slow down
for a while, use my inhaler and take it easy until the reaction
eases. I do know that my asthma is triggered by these scents so I
always have to be careful when out in malls, especially close to
Mother's day, Valentine's day and Christmas. These occasions seem to
be the times where stores really want to promote giving perfume as a
gift to someone.

It is rather
difficult to totally avoid all the different scents around us, but at
least I can avoid most of them. So if you enjoy wearing cologne
please remember that there are some of us that will suffer because of
what you are wearing.

Remember, a scent is
not limited to perfume or cologne as the scent can also be in
candles, hairsprays, lotions, soaps, air fresheners, etc. If
possible, please remember that you may enjoy the scent but someone
else in the area may be having some issues because of it.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

There are a number
of ways to manage others and some are good and others don't work. Of
course, it does depend on the individuals involved.

When managing others
one of the biggest things is to figure out how to keep the individual
busy but don't hover over them and keep checking up on them. People
like to know that you trust them to get the work done. Also, make it
clear to the person that if they run into problems or have any
questions that are you there to assist them. One of the biggest
things is as a manager you need to ensure that your staff is busy but
you also have to ensure that you are getting your own work done.

One of the worst
things you can do when managing someone is continually checking up on
them to make sure they are getting stuff done. Of course, there is
always the challenge of not checking up enough on an individual so
that they feel they can do whatever they want. At first, you will
always have to be around to assist the new individual but once you
see that they can do the various tasks you need to step back a bit
and let them do it.

Managing others is
always a trick because until you know what the person can and cannot
do you will need to manage one way and then later change how you
manage. Staff want to know that you trust them and they in turn will
trust you and will come to you when they have problems.

For the manager
there is always the risk of someone above you not liking your
management style. Everyone has their own ways to manage and that
needs to be understood. You can't tell someone to stop hovering over
staff one day and then tell them they aren't doing a good job at
managing the same people the next day. If you see something that can
be improved in a way someone manages you can make suggestions but
that's it. Managing others is always a challenge but trust is one of
the biggest things that you need to establish.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

So many of us deal
with the same projects on and off and that is the juggling of various
projects at the same time.

Of course, with work
there always seems to be too many things that need to be accomplished
and just not enough time to get everything done. The juggling of the
projects can simply be the various emails that appear that need to be
dealt with or it can be various projects that are all needing our
attention at the same time.

I do
juggle a number of work projects all the time and there are instances
where I don't feel like I am getting anywhere with any of them. When
this happens I know that the best thing I can do is sit back and look
at them and figure out some of the small tasks that need to be
completed and get them out of the way. By simply getting some of the
small tasks done it gets me wanting to see more of the projects moved
along and it gets a lot easier to deal with.

Now, the other
juggling that I do is with my own time because as a crafter there are
always a lot of different projects being worked on at once. There are some crafter's that can only have one project on the go at
once but that sure isn't me. I currently don't even want to count
all the projects that I have on the go because it would be quite a
few. My crafting projects are all at different stages because then I
can work on them when I have different amounts of times to allocate
to the.

The juggling of all
the various projects does take some time and it can also add some
unnecessary stress to our lives when things get a little hard to deal
with. Perhaps my to-do-list can sometimes look rather long and
that is because I break down a lot of my projects into a lot of
detail. The detail is how I can juggle everything and at least see a
bit of progress on the projects. I also set the milestones that I
want to achieve to ensure that I can try and keep the focus that I
need to get everything done.

As a project manager
being able to see the various little things that can get done does
help me juggle all the tasks for all the projects. The juggle will
continue but at least I am finding methods that can help me continue
to get things moved a little further ahead.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

If you had asked me
a year ago if I would have been going to a gym on a regular basis I
probably would have said no to you. Now I can say I am enjoying
going to a gym and am happy about it.

Five weeks ago we
had a gym open within walking distance from our home and that was one
of the big selling points to us. Neither one of us wanted to have to
drive or take transit to get to the gym and we also didn't want the
personal trainers or all the classes that a lot of gyms offer. What
we wanted was a gym where we could work out and basically be our own
bosses for our exercises and that is what we found. The other nice
selling point was something that was reasonable priced and that is
also what we got.

We have been going
to the gym now for five weeks and I am loving it. The routine is to
try and get to the gym between two and three times a week if our
schedule allows us to do that. Being able to walk to it also means
that one of us can go even when the other one can't go for any
reason. Our gym bag is now always sitting close to the front door
ready to go so that when we decide to go there isn't the having to
prepare the gym bag as it is ready.

For us the purpose
of the gym is to get fit and be happy however building big muscles
has never been high on the list of things we want to accomplish. The
gym offers us the flexibility to do what we want and for how long we
want without someone watching over us and saying we should do so many
of each certain exercise each time we are at the gym. We have been
enjoying going and our routine at the gym differs each time we are
there.

The routine that I
started with was walking a 5km walk on the treadmill with some other
small exercises thrown in before and after that walk. Now my routine
is more like 20 minutes on the treadmill at a higher speed and then
more time on all the other equipment that I want to work on that trip
to the gym. Of course, there is one machine that always get used and
that is the one for working on the abdominal muscles. I am now
normally using that machine twice each trip to the gym as it is my
starting machine and ending of the trip.

The things that have
really changed for me is my comfort about myself being at a gym and
how I can actually do things. 5 weeks ago me completing the 5 km
walk in under 60 minutes was a major milestone and if I could walk it
at 3.1 miles an hour that was wonderful. Now I spend 20 minutes on
the treadmill normally at around 3.4 miles an hour with sprints at
4.5 miles an hour so that is a big difference for me. I am now
looking forward to getting the sprints longer and the amount of
walking in the 20 minutes down but I that is going to take some time
before I am running the entire 20 minutes.

One of the biggest
things that happened was this past week. A friend of mine saw me for
the first time since we joined the gym and she noticed a change in
me. Of course, I haven't been really working on a lot of areas yet
but she did notice that there is a change in my appearance/shape and
that made me extremely happy. For me knowing that I have been making
some changes in my life and I have been feeling some differences in
how clothes fit makes me very happy.

The gym is something
that I am really enjoying and now I am very determined to keep at it
as we are also getting rid of some weight in this process. The
weight isn't leaving quickly but I can say that in the last 5 weeks
both of us have gotten rid of 3 pounds each so that is great. I am feeling
stronger already and I can also walk at a faster pace normally now.

A gym is helping me
change me in some good ways and I wonder what I will be like when I
reach the three months of going.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

A friendly work
environment makes it so much easier to do things than some place
where you aren't allowed to smile or even laugh just a little bit.

I have heard that
“this place isn't summer camp” said when a couple of people have
decided to laugh just a little bit. The laughing isn't something
that is done all the time but it is something that helps relieve the
stress that we all deal with now a days especially at work. Of course
a work environment shouldn't be a place where there is always a bunch of
people laughing all the time but there are times when just a bit of
laughter makes things so much better.

It is amazing how
different people handle stress and everything that is going on around
us. I have been told that I am too enthusiastic about my work. I
enjoy my work and when I am doing something, yes, I will put all my
energy into it and show an interest. Something, me just showing
being happy is also a means of dealing with challenges that I don't want
others to see that I am handling.

A friendly work
environment really does make work so much easier to do even when you
are really stressed about something. I know that work needs to get
done and that is why people go into an office but there also needs to
be a chance to smile and be happy about things even for a little
while.

So if you are
dealing with a location that doesn't allow you to smile or even laugh
a bit, that isn't a good spot for you if you want to be happy. I continue to show my enthusiasm on the various projects that
I am working on as it makes me feel better and the smiles can be contagious. I am now going to go and
put that smile on my face and if people around me don't like it
that's their problem.

Do you have a
friendly work environment or one that makes you feel depressed?

About Me

I am a technical writer, instructor and co-owner of a business. I have my opinions on life and see things maybe a little different. My opinions do not reflect the opinions of the company. If you enjoy my writing and would like some help with your company intranet or other documents please feel free to contact me. For writing and other parts of my life can be found at www.dlklife.ca